blog.indianracing.in

Gestut Fahrhof have announced that Lomitas has been put down at the age of 22 due to the infirmities of old age. Born at Northmore Stud near

He was trained in

At four, he won two more Group races but then problems surfaced, including a human blackmail story and an attempt to poison Lomitas himself, and he left in secret, via Newmarket, for Santa Anita. But all did not go well there, as he was off the track for several months with a serious hoof problem. In fact, he only won once during his two seasons in training in the US, though he was placed twice at Gr.2 level, and he went back to

He has been a great success in the German stallion ranks, siring the likes of Gr.2 Mehl Mulhens Rennen winner Sumitas, Gr.1 Deutsches Derby hero Belenus and triple Gr.1 winner and successful sire Silvano in his very first crop. He later stood for five seasons at Dalham Hall Stud, returning to Fahrhof in 2006.

Andreas Jacobs commented, “I am very sad. I loved him very much,” while Fahrhof Manager Herbert Kahrs said, “I have lost a faithful companion. It is some comfort to know we have five of his daughters in our broodmare band.”

Courtesy: EBN

Zenyatta was tested in the final furlong of the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) by runner-up Rinterval (Ire) on Saturday at Del Mar, but the two-time champion older female never appeared to be in any serious danger of tasting defeat for the first time.

The six-year-old Street Cry (Ire) mare took command in early stretch under regular rider Mike Smith and held the runner-up at bay through the final furlong of a neck victory. Zenyatta won for the 18th time in as many starts after completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.03 on the synthetic Polytrack surface as the 1-to-10 favorite.

“She literally was playing,” Smith said of the stretch run. “I hit the front too soon, and when she gets to the front she wants to salute the fans.

“She started looking around. She does that sometimes in her works. She’ll make the front and then start to shut down a little bit. That mare that hooked her today [Rinterval] was game.”

Zenyatta won the Hirsch for the third straight year and secured her 12th career win at the highest level, joining the great two-time champion older female Bayakoa (Arg) for the most Grade 1 wins by a female racehorse.

“This is such a great moment for Zenyatta,” said winning trainer John Shirreffs, who conditions Zenyatta for owners Jerry and Ann Moss. “She’s in such rarified air; I just can’t describe it.”

Rinterval set the tempo through a leisurely half-mile in :50.61 with Dance to My Tune pressing from second. Smith reserved Zenyatta in fifth behind the soft fractions, significantly closer than in most of her races.

Smith asked Zenyatta to pick up the pace approaching the far turn, and she responded with a sweeping rally entering the stretch to put herself in contention for the lead much earlier than usual.

Rinterval, runner-up by a head to reigning champion female sprinter Informed Decision in the Chicago Handicap (G3) in her previous race, battled gamely with Zenyatta but could not spoil the champion’s unblemished record.

The only race Zenyatta won by a smaller margin was the 2009 Clement L. Hirsch, when she defeated Anabaa’s Creation (Ire) by a head.

Rinterval was 2 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Princess Taylor (GB).

Zenyatta boosted her bankroll to $6,254,580 and moved within one win of Peppers Pride’s modern North American record of 19 consecutive victories.

“There was a lot of pressure this week, but she’s a great horse and we’re grateful for that,” Jerry Moss said. “We want her to keep winning. She’s just a miracle.

“She’s a great star. She’s brilliant and she has a great bunch of fans that recognize that. She hasn’t let them down yet. … Zenyatta represents the best there is in racing. She’s a great leader to follow.”

Bred in Kentucky by Maverick Productions, Zenyatta is one of three winners from five starters out of the winning Kris S. mare Vertigineux, also the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Balance.

Courtesy: www.racingpost.com

Age Of Aquarius pulls up in the background after suffering a leg injury 

The third day of Glorious Goodwood was one that rewarded toughness and longevity as the two feature races, the Gr.2 King George Stakes and the Gr.2 Goodwood Cup, were won by the eight-year-old Bordlescott (Compton Place) and the seven-year-old Illustrious Blue (Dansili).

The old warrior Bordlerscott (

) looked back to his very best as he came with a strong late run down the centre of the course under Kieren Fallon to land the Gr.2 King George Stakes at Goodwood. He will next bid to win a third successive Gr.1 Nunthorpe Stakes, a feat that has been achieved by Tag End (1928-1930) and Sharpo (1980-1982).

This win takes the son of

’s career earnings for his owners James Edgar and William Donaldson to £739,839, which is some achievement for a horse who was picked up by his trainer Robin Bastiman for £13,000 at DBS October Yearling Sale.

Bred by James Clark, he is much the best horse out of his dam, the Touching Wood mare Jeewan, though she has also produced prolific winners in the six-time victor

Woodbury (Woodborough) and five-time winner Harry Browne (Al Hareb).

Illustrious Blue is well known as a Goodwood course specialist and he gave his trainer William Knight the biggest win of his career in the Goodwood Cup. Knight’s decision to step the horse up in trip has been an inspired move, as he won the Gr.3 Sagaro Stakes but this was another step forward.

The race was marred by the favourite Age Of Aquarius (Galileo) breaking down early in the straight, after which Electrolyser (Daylami) went into a clear lead but as soon as Jim Crowley sent the son of Dansili in chase he always looked as if he would wear him down and he took the lead two furlongs out.

Mark Johnston has been known as a specialist trainer at this meeting over the years but it took him until the third day before he got off the mark this year with the UAE Darley homebred Eastern Aria (Halling) in the Gr.3 Lillie Langtry Stakes, in which she broke the track record. She is out of the Danzig mare Badraan, who won three times in the UAE, while her second dam Gold Sunrise (Forty Niner) and third Seattle Dawn (Grey Dawn II), were both Graded winners in

Courtesy:

Harbinger wins the King George in sensational, record-breaking style 

Harbinger absolutely annihilated his King George rivals with a memorable victory in the midsummer showpiece at

The impressive unbeaten filly Memory propelled herself to the fore of the Gr.1 1,000 Guineas market after a comfortable success in the Gr.2 Cherry Hinton Stakes on Wednesday at New Market, in which she came from last to first and had to overcome trouble in running.  

The daughter of Danehill Dancer won her maiden at Goodwood in May before landing the Gr.3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot in a close finish from Margot Did (Exceed And Excel). 

Trainer Richard Hannon said he believed she was a true

Cape Blanco (right) edges ahead of Midas Touch with Jan Vermeer in third

Cape Blanco led home an Aidan O’Brien-trained 1-2-3 in the Irish Derby to give the master trainer a historic fifth consecutive victory in the Curragh Classic.

Johnny Murtagh’s “tough decision” to keep the faith in the Prix du Jockey Club flop was vindicated as the Totesport.com Dante Stakes winner, sent off the 7-2 second favourite behind Monterosso, bounced back in style. Murtagh, too, was bouncing back following a nasty fall in the opening race at the Curragh, in which he suffered cuts and bruises.

The winning jockey said: “I had a lovely run through the race. He traveled very sweetly and he was very brave and tenacious over the last two furlongs. “It was a tough decision, as to which I would ride, and I can’t take a lot of credit for picking Cape Blanco as Aidan suggested to me that he would be the one to ride.”

Connections mentioned the Betfair-sponsored King George at Ascot as the next possible target, which sets up a fascinating rematch with Workforce, who Cape Blanco defeated in the Derby trial at York.

Celebrating an eighth success in the Irish Derby, O’Brien said: “I’m delighted - it was brilliant. Johnny gave him a brilliant ride. He showed today he’s the type of horse we thought he was and we’ll sit down and think seriously about the King George. “That last day was a blip and we cannot understand why. He wasn’t the horse we know in France, but he’s left that behind him.”

William Hill have priced up a King George match bet, going 4-9 Workforce and 13-8 Cape Blanco.

Apart from Jan Vermeer, the Ballydoyle challengers raced prominently throughout with rank outsider Bright Horizon setting a decent pace ahead of At First Sight, Midas Touch and Cape Blanco, who traveled in single file in behind. At the midway point, the order barely changed, although Frankie Dettori, tracking Cape Blanco on 3-1 favourite Monterosso, began to scrub his mount along as the pacesetter stretched clear.

Swinging for home, however, Bright Horizon’s early exertions began to tell and Colm O’Donoghue attempted to draw the sting out of his rivals with an early charge on Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial winner Midas Touch. For a brief moment, the tactic appeared to have paid off, but both Cape Blanco on the outside and Jan Vermeer up the rail began to make inroads on the leader. In a thrilling finish to the 1m4f contest, Cape Blanco eventually wore down Midas Touch, while Jan Vermeer was narrowly denied in third and Monterosso could only manage fourth.

O’Brien added: “I’m very pleased with the second and third, but at this moment there are no real plans.” O’Donoghue said of Midas Touch: “He strikes me as a real St Leger type.” Coral obviously agreed and cut the runner-up to 7-2 favourite (from 6-1) for the Doncaster Classic.

Mark Johnston, trainer of King Edward VII Stakes winner Monterosso, said: “We’re disappointed and don’t whether this was a step too far in terms of the class or if it came too soon after Royal Ascot.”

Courtesy: www.racingpost.com

The Gr.1 Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday has attracted eleven entries for the race, including last week’s runaway Royal Ascot winner Monterosso, who has been supplemented at a cost of €125,000 by his connections.

The son of Dubawi was impressive when landing the Gr.2 King Edward VII Stakes last week, where he had Gr.1 Derby runner-up At First Sight (Galileo) back in fourth. The Mark Johnson-trained, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed-owned colt has done nothing but improve this season and is the winner of five of his seven races.

Aidan O’Brien has yet to taste Classic success in either Ireland or Britain this term, but the Ballydoyle-based trainer has a remarkable record in this race and won it for a record seventh time when Fame And Glory (Montjeu) stormed home last year. O’Brien is responsible for five of the eleven entries for Sunday’s showpiece with Jan Vermeer (Montjeu) installed as the favourite. He can also choose between At First Sight, Bright Horizon, Cape Blanco (Galileo) and Midas Touch (Galileo). He is likely to have at least three runners, but there will be no final decision until later in the week.

Chabal (Galileo) is set to represent Godolphin, while the Michael Bell-trained Coordinated Cut (Montjeu) and David Simcock’s Dubawi Phantom (Dubawi) complete a four strong overseas challenge. Trainer Jim Bolger, meanwhile, supplies the remaining two entries with a couple of really progressive colts in Carraiglawn (Rock of Gibraltar) and Puncher Clynch (Azamour). The Gr.2 Railway Stakes on the same card has attracted an entry of fifteen, which includes the likes of Ascot –fifth Chilworth Lad (Diktat), Clondinnery (Choisir), Formosina (Footstepsinthesand), High Award (Holy Roman Emperor), the Gr.3 Albany Stakes-fourth Radharcnafarraige (Distorted Humor) and Samuel Morse (Danehill Dancer), who was a good fourth behind Strong Suit (Rahy) in the Gr.2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.

The Gr.3 Sapphire Stakes has also attracted plenty of British-trained runners. Regular Curragh visitor Benbaun (Stravinsky) heads a list of nine challengers from that country, while last year’s Gr.3 Round Tower Stakes winner Arctic (Shamardal), the multiple Listed-placed Luisant (Pivotal) and the recent Listed Naas Sprint Stakes heroine Miss Gorica (Mull of Kintyre) spearhead the home defense in the five furlong dash.

Courtesy: European Bloodstock News, UK

Laddies Poker Two (grey) leaves her rivals for dead in the Wokingham

 Laddies Poker Two heaped further misery on the bookmakers as the Jeremy Noseda-trained grey landed a huge punt to take the Wokinghamas 9-2 favourite.

A succession of well-supported winners, starting in the very first race of the meeting with Goldikova in the Queen Anne and culminating with Starspangledbanner in the Golden Jubilee, had already made it a Royal Ascot to forget for bookmakers.And money had flooded in all week for Laddies Poker Two, who was making her comeback after 610 days off, so much so that she was sent off the 9-2 favourite having been available at 16-1 during the week.Noseda cheered the winner home as loudly as anyone and said: “This plan was hatched in December 2008 and we really fancied her for this race last year, but she got a bad injury in spring 2009 and we had to delay it a year.  

“[Ladbrokes PR director] Mike Dillon was the one who put the idea in my mind originally and I thought ‘why not’? It’s been a great team effort and I want to thank everyone at home for getting her back.”Owned by Derrick Smith, John Magnier and Michael Tabor, Laddies Poker Two sat almost last in the stands’ side group under Johnny Murtagh in the early stages.Knot In Wood led the stands’ side group along while Mac Gille Eoin matched strides with him as leader of the far-side group.With two furlongs to run Murtagh started to make his move and the mare cut through the field to the front before blasting away to the cheers of the crowd. 

Striking Spirit chased her home on the near side with Palace Moon grabbing third from Knot In Wood. Genki was first home on the far side in seventh.Noseda admitted plans for the winner went no further than this race and said:  “This was the plan and I’m not sure about the future. I would hope she would be good enough to win a stakes race and then we will take it from there.“I want to thank the owners for their patience and I’m just glad their patience has been rewarded.”

Murtagh said: “For once I’ve done everything the trainer has told me to do. I got her settled and moved through a furlong out. Jeremy said she might go right so I gave her plenty of room to move into.

“She won well, the jockey gets all the praise but a lot of it goes to the team. You don’t have to push the river, it just flows.”

Courtesy: www.racingpost.com 

Ryan Moore snatched the prize for leading rider at Royal Ascot in the very last race of the meeting when driving Bergo home in a close finish from Aajel.

Courtesy: www.racingpost.com

Bookmakers estimated that the most punishing Royal Ascot of modern times may have cost the industry as much as £50 million as the five-day meeting ended on Saturday evening.After the Jeremy Noseda-trained Laddies Poker Two had landed a massive gamble in the Wokingham Stakes, following the earlier Saturday successes of the well-backed Harbinger and Starspangledbanner, punters were lording it over the old enemy. “It has been carnage,” said Coral spokesman Dave Stevens, summed up the misery among bookmakers.From day one of the meeting on Tuesday punters held the upper hand, and Saturday’s results were the icing on the cake.Laddies Poker Two, a 16-1 chance earlier in the week, was backed down to 9-2 favourite having been a morning price of 10-1.Harbinger easily won the Hardwicke Stakes as odds-on favourite, and Starspangledbanner justified massive support by leading all the way to win the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes.Stevens said: “All in all it has been a Royal Ascot for bookmakers to forget. Across the five days it wouldn’t be unrealistic to say the industry has lost somewhere around £50 million so from our point of view, we were probably the only people cheering when

“What is it about

Courtesy: www.racingpost.com